RACHEL WHITEREAD (b. 1963)

In Modern Chess Set Rachel Whiteread creates a chess set from replicas of vintage dollhouse furniture. An avid collector of doll’s houses and their contents, the artist’s interest culminated in Place (Village), 2006-2008, an installation of 150 model houses which she had amassed over twenty years. Whiteread wittily alludes to traditional gender politics, ranging miniatures versions of everyday utilities and appliances, such as sinks, stoves, ironing boards, buckets, washtubs and wastebaskets, against leisure-based furnishings and objects, such as armchairs, electric radiators and televisions. These carefully chosen objects frame the home environment as a site of work for women and of leisure for men. Each piece is meticulously fabricated after model toys in Whiteread’s own collection and is presented on a patch-work of floral carpet squares and coloured linoleum. With its wooden box referencing the typography and packaging of the 1950’s, Modern Chess Set gently critiques gender stereotypes while nostalgically evoking the aesthetics and spirit of a bygone era.         

This work is accompanied by a certificate issued by the publisher.